The role of ethics in water, food and environmental security from the perspective of farmers: case study at Lordegan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran

The overexploitation of natural resources leads to environmental degradation and negative impacts to present and future generations. Therefore, the efficient and rational use of the natural resources is vital because their regeneration involves very costs and time. The water issue is so important that it is not just technical data that need to be addressed to solve its crisis, but also social, moral and cultural data must be used. So far, agricultural water use ethics have been discussed as a topic related to field of environmental ethics. Water ethics should be considered as an applied ethics that is based on the recognition of water as a requirement for life. Water is the major limiting factor in agricultural production. Therefore, it is important to utilize it correctly, especially in agricultural activities. In the present study, the general objective was to analyze the principles (human dignity, mutual good, solidarity, supervision, and justice) of the water ethics in the viewpoint of farmers, in the Lordegan township in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran. The present research was performed using a descriptive-analytical method, with field information through questionnaires. The research sample consisted of 219 people selected using Cochran’s formula. The results of the research indicate that the farmers have a high average age (54 years). 32.9% of the respondents are illiterate and only 14.2% had a university degree. Farmers are well acquainted with and adhered to the principles of water ethics. But even though they know that harvesting water from underground aquifers is immoral, in practice more than half of them do so, indicating that long-term water scarcity will lead to ethical disrespect. The results of the research show that in times of water crisis, including climate change, support to farmers should be strengthened, especially in economic and income terms, so that their cultural and environmental gifts are not threatened.The overexploitation of natural resources leads to environmental degradation and negative impacts to present and future generations. Therefore, the efficient and rational use of the natural resources is vital because their regeneration involves very costs and time. The water issue is so important that it is not just technical data that need to be addressed to solve its crisis, but also social, moral and cultural data must be used. So far, agricultural water use ethics have been discussed as a topic related to field of environmental ethics. Water ethics should be considered as an applied ethics that is based on the recognition of water as a requirement for life. Water is the major limiting factor in agricultural production. Therefore, it is important to utilize it correctly, especially in agricultural activities. In the present study, the general objective was to analyze the principles (human dignity, mutual good, solidarity, supervision, and justice) of the water ethics in the viewpoint of farmers, in the Lordegan township in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran. The present research was performed using a descriptive-analytical method, with field information through questionnaires. The research sample consisted of 219 people selected using Cochran’s formula. The results of the research indicate that the farmers have a high average age (54 years). 32.9% of the respondents are illiterate and only 14.2% had a university degree. Farmers are well acquainted with and adhered to the principles of water ethics. But even though they know that harvesting water from underground aquifers is immoral, in practice more than half of them do so, indicating that long-term water scarcity will lead to ethical disrespect. The results of the research show that in times of water crisis, including climate change, support to farmers should be strengthened, especially in economic and income terms, so that their cultural and environmental gifts are not threatened

Hyperferritinemia: A possible marker for diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus?

Abstract: Objectives: Comparing the serum ferritin levels of patients with systemic lupus Erythematosus (SLE) during different phases of activity with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) patients as controls. Materials & Methods: Sixty SLE patients (56 females and 4 males) were divided into two groups marked as 1) low/no active (SLEDAI≤10) including 18 patients and 2) active (SLEDAI≥11) composed of 42 patients. Serum ferritin was determined in both SLE and control groups including 20 patients with OA and 20 with active RA (according to DAS28). Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 13.0. Results: Of 60 SLE patients, 61.7% had hyperferritinemia. Contrarily, only %5 and 15% of OA an RA patients showed elevated serum ferritin levels, respectively (P<0.001). In differentiating between SLE and RA, hyperferritinemia showed a specificity of 85% and a sensitivity of 61.6% with positive predictive value of 92.5% and negative predictive value of 42.5%. The mean ferritin titer in SLE patients was 2.7 times higher than normal value whereas it was 0.10 and 0.35times in OA and RA, respectively (P<0.001). Ferritin levels were elevated in 27 cases of active SLE and 10 of low/no active SLE but the difference was insignificant. Of SLE patients with nervous system involvement, all (6; 10%) had elevated level of serum ferritin (P<0.04).Conclusion: Hyperferritinemia is common in patients with SLE but in case of considerably high titers, the nervous system involvement should be considered. In women with polyarthritis, hyperferritinemia could be considered as a useful marker to differentiate between SLE and RA. [Abbasi M, Sahebari M, Amini A, Saghafi M. Hyperferritinemia: A possible marker for diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus? Life Sci J 2013;10(3s):335-337] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 47 Keywords: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Ferritin, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Nervous system, SLE Disease Activity Inde

Effective Factors on Theoretical Classes Attendance of Dentistry Students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background & Objective: Classrooms are suitable environment for transferring teachers’ experiences to students and gaining a better understanding of educational contents. The students’ absence from theoretical classes has been one of the increasing and most important educational problems in medical universities in recent years. This study was performed to determine factors effective on theoretical class attendance according to the point of view of dentistry students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2012. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 students of the School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, in 2012. Data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of 2 parts: demographic characteristics and effective factors on theoretical class attendance questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions scored based on a 5-point Likert scale, from very effective to ineffective, and scores ranging from 0 to 80. Higher scores indicated more effective factors. Data were analyzed by SPSS software through linear regression analysis. Values of P < 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Of the 150 participants, 58.7% were female, 83.3% were single, and 61.3% were native students. The mean age of the participants was 20.7 ± 1.7 years. The mean score of the students was 58.24 ± 9.59. A significant statistical relationship was observed between area of residence, year of education, and sex of students and mean score of questionnaire. Among factors effective on theoretical class attendance, the highest score belonged to appropriate teaching method, teachers' scientific proficiency, students' interest in the related topic. However, taking part in the class as a duty and active involvement of students had the lowest scores. Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that attendance in classes is affected by factors related to both teachers and students. However, appropriate teaching method, teachers' scientific proficiency, and students' interest in the related topic are the main factors which determine students' attendance in the classes. Keywords Effective factors Attendance Theoretical lessons Dentistry students Kerman (Iran

Cicer arietinum in the Treatment of Small Renal Stones: a Double-Blind, Randomized and Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background and objectives: Urolithiasis is a common urological disorder. Based on the Persian medicine literatures, Cicer arietinum has a potential to dissolve renal stones. This study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of Cicer arietinum in patients with renal stone. Methods: The extract of C. arietinum seeds was spray dried. A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 74 patients with 6-10 mm renal stones in ultrasonography. Patients were randomly assigned to take 330 mg of C. arietinum extract or placebo capsules three times a day for 30 days. Complete stone dissolution and the change in stone size during the trial was evaluated by ultrasonography. To assess the efficacy and safety of C. arietinum, blood and urine biochemical parameters were checked at baseline and after the intervention. Results: In the C. arietinum group, complete stone dissolution occurred in 9 (23.7%) patients and reduce in stone size was observed in 17 (44.7%) patients while no response to treatment was observed in placebo group. The mean stone size was reduced from 7.15 ± 1.34 mm to 4.28 ± 3.09 mm in the C. arietinum group (p Conclusion: Cicer arietinum extract could be an effective and safe treatment option for patients with 6-10 mm renal stones

Experiencing neonatal maternal separation increased pain sensitivity in adult male mice: Involvement of oxytocinergic system

Early-life stress adversely affects the development of the brain, and alters a variety of behaviors such as pain in later life. In present study, we investigated how early-life stress (maternal separation or MS) can affect the nociceptive response later in life. We particularly focused on the role of oxytocin (OT) in regulating nociception in previously exposed (MS during early postnatal development) mice that were subjected to acute stress (restraint stress or RS). Further, we evaluated whether such modulation of pain sensation in MS mice are regulated by shared mechanisms of the OTergic and opioidergic systems. To do this, we assessed the underlying systems mediating the nociceptive response by administrating different antagonists (for both opioid and OTergic systems) under the different experimental conditions (control vs MS, and control plus RS vs MS plus RS). Our results showed that MS increased pain sensitivity in both tail-flick and hot-plate tests while after administration of OT (1 μg/μl/mouse, i.c.v) pain threshold was increased. Atosiban, an OT antagonist (10 μg/μl/mouse, i.c.v) abolished the effects of OT. While acute RS increased the pain threshold in control (and not MS) mice, treating MS mice with OT normalized the pain response to RS. This latter effect was reversed by atosiban and/or naltrexone, an opioid antagonist (0.5 μg/μl/mouse, i.c.v) suggesting that OT enhances the effect of endogenous opioids. OTergic system is involved in mediating the nociception under acute stress in mice subjected to early-life stress and OTergic and opioidergic systems interact to modulate pain sensitivity in MS mic

The association of cardio-metabolic risk factors and history of falling in men with osteosarcopenia: a cross-sectional analysis of Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) program

Osteosarcopenia, defined as sarcopenia plus osteopenia/osteoporosis, may increase the risk of fractures and affects morbidity and mortality in the older population. Falling is also common in the elderly and increases the risk of fractures and mortality. We examined the association of cardio-metabolic risk factors with a history of falling in osteosarcopenic men. Methods We used the baseline data of the Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) program. Osteosarcopenia was defined as having both sarcopenia (reduced skeletal muscle mass plus low physical performance and/or low muscle strength) and osteopenia/osteoporosis (T-score ≤ − 1.0). Falling was defined as a self-reported history of an unintentional down on the ground during the previous year before the study. We used logistic regression analysis to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) to quantify the associations. Results All elderly men diagnosed with osteosarcopenia (n = 341), with a mean age of 73.3(±7.4) years, were included. Almost 50(14.7%) participants reported falling. Age showed a positive association with falling (AOR: 1.09, 95%CI: 1.04–1.14). An increase of 10 mmHg in systolic blood pressure(SBP), reduces the odds of falling by 26%(AOR:0.74, 95%CI:0.62–0.89), while a positive association was detected for fasting plasma glucose (FPG), as 10 mg/dl increase in the FPG, raises the chance of falling by 14%(AOR = 1.14, 95%CI:1.06,1.23). Hypertriglyceridemia was inversely associated with falling (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.89). Conclusions Falling is a major public health problem in rapidly aging countries, especially in individuals with a higher risk of fragility fractures. Older age-raised fasting plasma glucose and low SBP are associated with falling in osteosarcopenic patients. Considering the higher risk of fracture in osteosarcopenic men, comprehensive strategies are needed to prevent fall-related injuries in this high-risk population